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Finland's Arttu Välilä netted the winner at two minutes and eleven seconds of extra time as Finland engineered a remarkable 4-3 victory over the reigning two-time champion American team on Friday night in the IIHF World Junior Championship last eight.

"Got to give full credit to the US," stated Finnish captain Aron Kiviharju. "That's a hell of a team, loaded with great players and a superbly organized team. But I said we wanted that revenge from last year, and I believe we truly deserved it tonight."

In the semi-finals Sunday, the Finns will face Sweden, while the Canadians will meet the Czech Republic. Sweden defeated Latvia six to three, Canada produced a first-period five-goal outburst in a seven to one rout over the Slovakian team, and the Czechs topped Switzerland by a six to two margin.

Thrilling Final Frame and Overtime

The Michigan State Spartan Lee Ryker knotted the score for the U.S. team with 1:33 left in regulation and the University of Notre Dame netminder Nick Kempf pulled for an additional skater.

Lee Tuuva and Joona Saarelainen scored in a fifty-five-second span in the third to give their team a two to one lead. Tuuva tied it at 2 with seven minutes and seventeen seconds to go, then set up his teammate's game-leading goal with six minutes and twenty-two seconds remaining. Saarelainen also earned a helper on Tuuva’s goal.

Notable Performances and Post-Game Comments

The Boston University blueliner Cole Hutson recorded a goal and an assist for the United States after being struck in the back of the head against Switzerland and missing two games.

"I thought we executed well for most of the game," Hutson commented. "But the small details that they got, a lot of their Grade-A chances came from our mistakes."

His university colleague Cole Eiserman handed the U.S. a two to one lead on a man advantage with 9:45 remaining in the middle frame. He took a feed from his teammate and fooled Petteri Rimpinen with a one-timer from the right circle.

C. Hutson scored on a fast break 35 seconds into the second. Heikki Ruohonen tied it at four minutes and forty-six seconds on a snap shot from the left wing.

Goaltending Stats

• Rimpinen stopped twenty-eight attempts.
• Kempf recorded twenty-one stops.

The Americans lost their final two games – falling 6-3 to the Swedes on Wednesday night in the group finale – after winning their first three.

"It was an privilege to lead this group," said the American bench boss. "Our guys played a great game today and came up just short. Give the Finns. It's an empty feeling at the moment, but our guys gave it all they had."

Other Quarter-Final Results

In the late game in Minneapolis, the Canadian team overwhelmed Slovakia with the aforementioned first-period explosion.

C. Reschny, Tij Iginla, Michael Misa, Sam O’Reilly and Brady Martin tallied in the opening twenty minutes, and Porter Martone and C. Beaudoin scored in the following period. Jack Ivankovic made 21 saves.

"This demonstrates how powerful we are," Martin said. "Taking a five-nothing advantage, it really kills their morale."

In the opening playoff game, Anton Frondell netted a pair for Team Sweden against Latvia. The defenseman L. Sahlin Wallenius contributed a goal and two helpers to help the Swedish side stay undefeated in five games.

In Minneapolis Tomas Galvas, Samuel Drancak, Adam Jiricek, Petr Sikora, J. Klima and Jakub Fibigr scored for the Czechs.

Consolation Game Outcome

The German team won the consolation match, beating the Danes eight to four. M. Schams scored twice to ensure Germany retain its spot for the following season in the main event. The Danish side dropped to Division I-A.